Even If Prosecutors Are Not Handling Cases for Political Motives

According to news reports, P'eng Sheng-shao, a staff member for Ko's campaign office, was implicated in wiretapping and leaking secrets, changing his status from a witness to a defendant. After interrogation, he was handcuffed and ordered to post bail of NT$30,000. Following protests from his lawyers and media attention, the prosecutor backed down, changing the disposition to restriction of residence and release. Amidst the sensitive electoral period, the prosecutors' motion to detain a credit investigation operator had just been rejected by the court, and now they struck out and then pulled back regarding P'eng. Prosecutors' handling of cases has once again sparked controversy.

Insinuations that the Taipei District Prosecutors Office is handling cases for political motives are commonplace. What is even more certain is their habitual abuse of power without self-awareness—though, of course, this is no better. If one still remembers Wei Yang, who was subjected to a motion for detention for holding a microphone at the Executive Yuan, the court directly dismissed it. Rank-and-file prosecutors were already voicing widespread criticism, considering the detention motion to be excessive.

During subsequent waves of conflict, police arbitrarily arrested people; in some cases, the court inspected discs during the hearing and confirmed that the wrong person had been arrested altogether. Yet prosecutors remained indifferent, casually issuing dispositions of bail, custody, or restriction of residence. Citizens dissatisfied with this filed quasi-appeals, which the court revoked. Prosecutors suffer no consequences for acting recklessly; this is the main reason why procedural due process is crude.

These cases demonstrate that prosecutors do not take compulsory measures seriously enough. Bail is granted when the prosecution believes grounds for detention exist but detention is unnecessary. Since P'eng refused bail, the prosecution should have all the more moved for detention and allowed court review. Releasing him immediately and imposing a restriction of residence felt like finding a way out for themselves, giving the impression that their case handling cannot withstand scrutiny at all. They only dare to bully ordinary citizens, and when the wind blows the wrong way, they back down, dragging down the reputation of the entire judiciary system.